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Oct. 8 Jeff Banister postgame interview

MLB.com |

MODERATOR: First question for Jeff Banister.

Q. Jeff, was your plan all along that Diekman would go two, or did he just throw so well that you decided to bring him back out and that changed the dynamic of your bullpen there at the end?JEFF BANISTER: The way the lineup's set up for him, the opportunity to get him in at that point, a clean inning the first inning, we like the matchups there for the second inning, but really it was the job by Kela to get through that inning to allow us to run Diekman through that stretch of hitters.

Q. What led you to go with Dyson instead of Tolleson in the 9th inning?JEFF BANISTER: Well, we talked to the four guys that we use at the back end of the bullpen about the stretch of hitters and how we're going to utilize those guys to matchup through the different innings. It's about the stretch of hitters that we feel that are the best matchups for those guys. We just had it set up that way. And so to get Dyson in that area, we felt that that was the best area for him. Tolly's still our guy out there in the bullpen is part of the mix, and you will see Tolleson at the end of the game. But in these type of ball games and in series like this, it's about finding the best matchups for our bullpen. Our bullpen, the way it's set up and the guys that we have, it's not by any stretch a perfect stretch for guys, it's not ninth 9th, 8th inning, 7th inning, it's about those guys coming in when we feel it's the best opportunity for those guys to get the run of outs that we need to get them.

Q. You made mention before the game about perhaps the Blue Jays being favored by a lot of people and this seemed to have fired up your troops. What was the mood of your team going into this game?JEFF BANISTER: Well, we've got a very confident group of guys. We've got a group of guys that they absolutely love playing together and they've been up against it all year long since spring training. So it's not anything that we haven't faced already about what is said on the outside about our ballclub. We know that we're a ballclub that's not a perfect ballclub, but we've got a group of guys that play extremely well together. It's a good team. They play very well together. They love playing the game of baseball together and they find away to meet the demands of the game. So they don't really listen to what's being said about them. All they know is they want to go out and play baseball.

Q. Jeff, can you talk a little bit about what the chatter in the dugout was losing Beltre and then the early diagnosis on Beltre and his availability going forward?JEFF BANISTER: Well, the availability as we know it right now is that I have no information on that. What I do know is that Adrian, when he slid into second base came up with some back spasms. Further evaluation, we'll know more tonight and also in the morning of where he's at. But what I do know about Adrian Beltre is his last at-bat, what he did in his last at-bat is phenomenal. Talked about it all year long, just how tough this man is and what he's capable of doing. You never count him out in the chatter. I think what we went through in spring training in the very first part of the year losing Darvish, Holland, Ryu. Then there was a stretch that we played that we didn't have Adrian. So we know how to play in those -- when we're faced with that type of adversity. Obviously we want Adrian in the game. He's the heart and soul of this ballclub. But look, this is a group of guys that find a way and you saw that early on with some of the things we were capable of doing and scratched out a couple runs early that really got us on the board and got us going.

Q. Sometimes we talk about the inexperience is a good thing, these guys are a little bit ignorant of it. Today you had Odor, Chirinos, DeShields, three guys with not a lot of experience that really came up big. Is that a product of that mentality?JEFF BANISTER: They have experience playing the game of baseball and they're doing things that they've done all year long. We talked about it early that those runs that you're able to get from the bottom part of the order, they're really special and they can be game winners for you obviously. But to have those guys step up in those situations, it's huge. And they're gaining experience of what it feels like to play in front of crowds like this and I think they'll be better for it every step of the way.

Q. What was your feeling about Gallardo after five innings, I know you have to like what he did through five but at that point what's your thinking there?JEFF BANISTER: Yeah, he did a great job for us, and really what we were looking for from Yo. He did what he does, he kept it right where we needed for it to be and really masterful job of moving the fastball around, utilizing the secondary pitches, kind of keeping the hitters off balance. Got hit, got barreled up a couple of times. But really, the five innings, that's what we really needed from him so I think he did a great job.

Q. Looked like after the home run Elvis went out to the mound to get Kela to sort of mentally back on track. What do you think of that and is that something that he does, that kind of leadership?JEFF BANISTER: Yeah, that's a veteran presence that we have. Elvis is a guy that was one of those young guys that played in these type of games when he first came to the big leagues. So it's the bank of games that he's logged in over the course of time that he's been doing that all year long. There's been certain times where he's walked to the mound. I can tell you there was one of the very first games that Kela came into in Oakland that Elvis walked to the mound, Fielder walked to the mound, settled the young man down and got him refocused, and that's what they do for each other. They noticed those opportunities and times when it's necessary to go talk to their teammates and get them locked back in.